$uper bowl=profit$

Businesses, party givers game plan for big day

January 31, 2013

Thirty seconds of commercial time during Super Bowl XLVII is selling for $3.8 million, and each player on the winning team stands to earn an additional $88,000, with the runners-up pocketing $44,000.

But there's also money to be made by local businesses.

More than 179 million Americans are expected to watch Sunday's NFL championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, according to the National Retail Federation. More than 39 million plan to host a Super Bowl party, while 10 million-plus intend to watch it at a restaurant or bar. Between food, decorations and other items, the federation anticipates more than $12 billion being spent on the big game.

Article Photos

EVAN BEVINS The Marietta TimesBlacksmith Bar and Grill bartender Marcie Fouss, right, shows customers Shawn Haynes, left, and Dave Jurgensen a beer bucket Tuesday like the ones that will be available to customers watching the Super Bowl at the Marietta restaurant.

Williamstown resident Lori Williamson, 52, plans to have a special menu and special gathering on game day.

"We're going to get together with our children and their spouses and watch it as a family," she said, noting her son has been at school in Florida and unable to watch the game with the rest of the family in recent years. "We're all sports fans and we like the special event-ness of the Super Bowl, and we just enjoy being together."

Some Super Bowl soirees will receive a menu assist from establishments like Blacksmith Tavern & Grill in the Marietta Comfort Inn.

Fact Box

By the numbers

179.1 million - Approximate number of people expected to watch Super Bowl XLVII.

$68.54 - Amount the average game-watcher is expected to spend on new televisions for viewing parties, snacks, decor and athletic apparel.

$12.3 billion - Total Super Bowl spending expected.

39.4 million - Number of people intending to have a Super Bowl party.

59.9 million - Number of people planning to attend a party.

10.1 million - People intending to watch the game at a restaurant or bar.

Source: National Retail Federation.

Souper Bowl

Churches and other organizations around the country turn Super Bowl Sunday into the "Souper Bowl of Caring," an opportunity to collect donations for local food pantries. Among the area churches participating Sunday are:

Tunnel and Warren Chapel United Methodist churches are encouraging people to bring canned soup for the Western Washington County Food Pantry to worship at 9 and 11 a.m. (Tunnel) and 10:30 a.m. (Warren Chapel) Sunday.

First Presbyterian Church of Marietta is asking people to make donations to the effort Sunday. They're also turning their regular "Sip and Chat" event into a "Soup and Chat," with proceeds going to the Marietta Community Food Pantry.

St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Marietta is collecting cans of food and other non-perishable items for donation to local food pantries Sunday.

Source: Times research.

"We're getting bulk orders for food to go," said general manager Kevin Black.

Since neither team has a strong local following, Black doesn't expect the kind of crowd in the restaurant that he would for a Super Bowl featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals or Cleveland Browns, or an Ohio State Buckeyes game on the Big 10 Network, which many people still don't get at home. Still, he anticipates plenty of business.

"We could actually probably double what we do on a Sunday," Black said.

One item the restaurant will feature on Sunday is an East-versus-West wings platter based on the Super Bowl teams' geographic separation. A ginger Thai sauce will represent San Francisco and the West Coast, while a more traditional buffalo sauce is designated for Baltimore and the East.

And Black said fears of a wing shortage aired in recent media reports won't have any impact on Blacksmith's menu Sunday - although how many people order and eat could.

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest days of the year for pizza sales, something the Original Pizza Place has witnessed over the years with increased pickups at its location in the Grand Central Mall in Vienna, W.Va. With a restaurant that opened last year on Second Street in Marietta, the company is preparing for a new aspect - deliveries.

"We're going to be fully staffed. We have extra delivery guys just to ensure timely delivery," said Kasandra Ruscitto, marketing manager for the Original Pizza Place.

The business will have multiple specials specifically for Super Bowl Sunday, in addition to its regular deals.

Some residents will opt to put together their own spreads, which is why Matt Spindler, manager of Sponey's IGA in Beverly, expects to see plenty of football-minded shoppers Saturday and Sunday.

"It definitely makes for a busy weekend," he said.

Party trays and pizzas tend to be popular game-day choices, Spindler said. Beer sales might rise a bit if a team with a local following was in the game - "Parties might be a little rowdier," Spindler suggested - but he still anticipates brisk business overall.

"You can certainly tell by what the customers are wearing how into it they are," he said. "But everybody still watches the Super Bowl."

And some folks want to watch it on a bigger, sharper screen.

"You'll see a splurge normally right before the Super Bowl or any other big event like that," said Jim Schaad, owner of Shadix TV Sales & Service in Marietta.

The closer it gets to the day of the game, the less common it is for somebody to pull the trigger on a TV upgrade. Schaad said the business did see an uptick in sales toward the first part of the month.

The National Retail Federation survey indicated 7.1 percent of households planning to watch the Super Bowl, about 7.5 million, would buy a new television, up from 5.1 million last year.

Despite all that interest in the game, some folks aren't planning to watch much, if any, of it.

Lowell resident Scott Steinel, 48, will be in Columbus for a rifle competition his son is participating in Sunday. He doesn't expect to be home until after halftime and isn't too concerned about it.

"Anymore these days, (players) get paid so darn much ... it really doesn't do much for me," he said.